Hollywood helps Rahm haul in $10.6M

Rahm Emanuel has tapped his super-agent brother Ari’s Hollywood money network big-time in his bid to become Chicago mayor, gobbling up five- and six-figure checks from the likes of Steven Spielberg, “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin, Dreamworks mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, and the Napster founder played by Justin Timberlake in “The Social Network.”

But Emanuel’s stunning multi-million haul wasn’t limited to the bright lights of the sunset strip — it also included huge payouts from CEOs and hedge fund managers across from New York to Silicon Valley, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Donald Trump and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin.

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Emanuel’s shop announced Thursday afternoon it had collected $11.7 million, including $1.1 million already in the former congressman’s funds, since unofficially launching his campaign in October. That total — almost identical to what Gov. Pat Quinn spent in his statewide gubernatorial race this fall — puts Emanuel in a strong position as he tries to replace long-time mayor Richard M. Daley.

Emanuel already has spent $2.2 million on friend David Axelrod’s Chicago-based communications firm to produce commercials that remind Chicago voters that the man who lived in DC for the past year and a half is still a native son.

All state candidates in Illinois had to submit their financial disclosures by midnight for fundraising conducted before Jan. 1. Emanuel benefited greatly from a lag time in the implementation of newly enacted campaign finance reform laws. In 2010, any individual could donate an unlimited amount to any state or municipal candidate, but now the amount is capped at $5,000.

Trump and Jobs donated $50,000, while Spielberg forked over $75,000 and Rubin gave $10,000.

Sorkin ponied up $10,000 and Sean Parker — the creator of Napster played by Timberlake in Sorkin’s blockbuster “The Social Network” — donated $100,000. Record executive Geffen also gave $100,000. Katzenberg wrote a check for $25,000.

A POLITICO review of financial disclosure documents posted on the Illinois Board of Elections website late Thursday night reveals that nearly two dozen donors cut one-time six-figure checks for Emanuel before 2011.

The high-ticket contributors ranged from a “homemaker” in Winnetka, a neighboring suburb to where Emanuel much of his adolescence, to Hollywood agent John Fogelman — who works for the agency where Emanuel’s brother Ari is CEO.